Led By a Child
At the church I attend there is a small group of children that gather in a front corner of the sanctuary during praise and worship. They join hands and dance during the singing and will invite their young friends to join the group when they arrive with their parents.
As the worship service continues, the children can be seen praying for each other, some while kneeling, or laying their hands on the one being prayed for. It is truly a joy to witness the freedom of worship they demonstrate and the love they have for each other.
The group was initiated by the five children of one family, ranging in ages from thirteen to two years old. One of the boys in the family is a young man named Josiah, who is eight years old. While the rest of the congregation is worshipping, Josiah will leave the circle of children and will begin to walk up and down the rows of chairs in the auditorium. Eventually he will stop in front of an adult and ask them if they would like for the children of the "prayer team" to pray for them. Upon agreement, he will take the adult by the hand and lead them to the corner of the auditorium. There, with the adult kneeling if they wish, or standing, the children will gather around them and begin the prayers for that person. I have noticed adults return from the prayer circle with a completely changed countenance, as if the hand of God Himself had touched them.
After several weeks of watching this children's ministry evolve, I noticed that the children's parents were sitting close to the circle, not in a way to interrupt the ministry taking place, but perhaps to be sure everything was done in order.
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6
At one service our pastor even commented that the group had informally gathered, without even asking for permission from the pulpit, but that their freedom of worship should be an example to all of the rest of us in the congregation. He also mentioned about Josiah walking through the congregation and wondered what it would feel like if he didn't invite you for prayer.
For the next several weeks, I pondered over the pastor's words, even beginning to hope I would receive a personal invitation from Josiah to join the prayer circle.
On one Sunday in October of last year, I was sitting by myself on a row in the church during praise and worship. Josiah began his walk through the congregation and in my mind I began to plead, "Pick me, pick me!" Sure enough, Josiah started down my row and my excitement began to build with the anticipation that this would be my day, when he walked right past me and picked another gentleman from another part of the auditorium.
Well, I began to complain to God, asking Him why I wasn't worthy of being prayed for? Josiah continued his walks through the congregation, all while I sat by myself, feeling sorry for myself and feeling unworthy of the children's prayers. Josiah approached a lady in the congregation and then another man.
As the praise and worship time was almost over, Josiah began one last trip around the auditorium and he came down my row again. This time he stopped right in front of me and asked if the children's prayer circle could pray for me. I almost jumped up and hugged him! God had heard my complaining and had answered my "whining!"
Josiah led me by the hand to the children's prayer circle and I truly experienced a life changing moment. The children and a few parents began to pray for me and the feeling of love and compassion that overcame me was indescribable. As they were praying, the oldest child of Josiah's family began to sing over me, and it was as if an angel from heaven was standing right in front of me.
I truly left the children's prayer circle a changed man. Let me explain why I felt that way.
In my Santa Claus ministry I have always tried to represent Jesus as the true meaning of Christmas. Over the last fifty years, since I accepted Jesus as my personal Savior, my ministry as Santa has been been recognized by the 700 Club as "The Praying Santa" and in Gudieposts magazine as "The Good Book Santa." While this type of recognition of my ministry is gratifying, it also humbles me to be singled out for something that means so much to me.

But nothing in my years of ministry has touched me like having the very children that I try to minister to actually minister to me through their prayers. The experience literally changed my life, and it made me desire to request prayers from other children I got to visit.
As I continued my Santa visits for 2023 I thought about who I should ask to pray for me. I've enjoyed annual visits with one young lady and her family ever since she was an infant. We had even had discussions as she grew older about how Jesus is the reason we celebrate Christmas. Her family even shared with me that she had asked Jesus to live in her heart and was baptized earlier this year.
During our visit this year I had a chance ot tell my young friend the story about the children at my church praying for me, and then I asked if she would like to pray for me too. Big mistake! Suddenly she began to cry uncontrollably and as big tears ran down her cheeks, she jumped off of my lap and ran to her mother. I was devastated, heart broken and confused. What had I said that upset her so much?
As I tried to apologize to her mother, she told me that her child had confessed to her, "What I said the wrong thing, and he didn't like it?" Now my heart truly was broken, because in no way would I judge the prayers of any child! Later in the evening I wa able to apologize to my young friend and we enjoyed our usual wonderful family visit together.
Later in the evening, as I traveled back to my home, I wondered to myself,
"Am I sometimes reluctant to pray because I don't know the right words to say? Am I afraid to pray my sincere thoughts because Jesus might not like what I say?"
Never! Unlike Santa, Jesus knows our thoughts even before we voice them. He knows everything about us and He loves us just the way we are.
Later in the year I shared my life-changing experience with my friend and photographer, Larry Hersberger. he invited the family in our church to a photo session where we attempted to recreate the experience I had of being prayed for by the children. Here is the photo created by my friend, which I humbly share in hopes that we realize how precious and important the prayers of our children are, especially to God!
"Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18:3